DWTS Finale Part 1

We are down to the final three contestants on Season 13 of “Dancing with the Stars”: Rob Kardashian with Cheryl Burke, Ricki Lake with Derek Hough and J.R. Martinez with Karina Smirnoff. I had Ricki and J.R. in my final three, but Rob was a surprise. While I don’t think he’ll go all the way (barring a total meltdown from Ricki and J.R. a la Chynna Phillips during her “Mission Impossible”-debacle in week 4) he has improved tremendously since his first week. Rob has also always been very humble (unlike some other more well-known members of his family) and joyful when he dances. On with the finale!

Ricki and Derek kick off the night with a cha cha cha. She sizzled in her red-hot dress, looking good and dancing well. Len thought it was a dance deserving of the final, although at times lacking fluidity. Bruno and Carrie Ann agreed on the fluidity issue, but both also loved the dance. They give her three 9’s for a 27.

Carrie Ann showed up to help Ricki in rehearsal, while Bruno gave tips to Rob. His waltz with Cheryl was smooth and flowing. The judges again are in agreement with mostly good comments, but note Rob’s posture was lacking at times. He ties with Ricki at 27.

Len came to help J.R., but his comments after were brutal. Even though he thought J.R. was brave to go solo for a large part of his cha cha cha with Karina, Len said he didn’t have a pro keeping him on time. Bruno liked it and his 9 helped bring up Len’s 7 and Carrie Ann’s 8 for a total of 24.

Now, the moment we’ve been waiting for: the dreaded freestyle dance.

Lifts, tricks, whatever you want, no ballroom rules here. Ricki burst through a picture of herself from the beginning of the competition, showing off how svelte she’s become over the last few weeks. Again, she looks great, and dances well, but …. but for me there’s something lacking. She seemed to pause a few times. The judges all loved the mashup of the quickstep and the salsa but Len thought she thought lost it a little in the quickstep and Carrie Ann noted the hesitation at the ending pose. Three more 9’s add up to a total of 54 for the night.

Rob and Cheryl have an elaborate set-up to start up their speak-easy themed number. While he looked like he was having the time of his life, I thought some lifts looked a little awkward, especially the hand placement. Bruno thought it was brilliant and Rob peaked at the right time. Carrie Ann hinted at her mark saying she has to be blown away for a 10 and she was indeed blown away tonight. I’m blown away that he got not one, but three 10’s! Compare this to the numbers that got Ricki and J.R. perfect scores and I don’t think there’s any comparison. Rob was good, but not great in my opinion. He has 57 points after the two dances.

My fave J.R. has some ground to make up. A perfect freestyle score would have him tie with Ricki at the end of the first part of the finale. Rehearsals show them failing at dangerous lifts, yikes, but they nailed them all in the performance. I wasn’t sure the judges would go for his freestyle because it didn’t have as many traditional ballroom elements as the other two dances, but they loved it! A perfect score ties him up with Ricki.

So my prediction at the beginning of the hour that Rob won’t go all the way has me eating humble pie right now. But with two more dances and viewers’ votes, who will be on top of the leaderboard tomorrow?